Rare Gilded Mask and Mummification Workshop

An Egyptian-German mission working at Saqqara close to the Unas Pyramid have announced the results of this year's excavations, including the discovery of a rare gilded Twenty-sixth Dynasty silver mummy mask in a tomb beneath a mummification workshop.

Post-pharaonic finds in the Delta

The remains of a series of chambers dating back to the Roman and Byzantine eras has been discovered during rescue excavations at Mitt Abu al-Kom, about 100km northwest of Cairo. Some of the rooms contained Roman-style marble Doric columns, with one room having a tiled floor.

Hidden Pottery Cachette

Hundreds of pottery vessels dating from the Graeco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras have been found buried in the garden of Alexandria's Graeco-Roman Museum. It is thought these artefacts (which include dishes, tableware and Hidari jars used to contain the ashes of cremated people) were hidden during World War II to protect them from looting or being destroyed by bombing in the area.

Giant Granite Sarcophagus

An Egyptian team called in to assess planned building work in the Sidi Gaber district of Alexandria have discovered a Ptolemaic Period tomb containing a sealed black granite sarcophagus. Measuring 185 cm by 265 cm and 165 cm wide, the sarcophagus is thought to be the largest ever discovered in Alexandria.

Graeco-Roman City at Minya

The remains of a Graeco-Roman city have been found in Minya after a group of men were arrested for excavating illegally. The gang had uncovered 483 copper and bronze coins and a pottery vessel. The ruins extend for about 2km and included rock-carved tombs, columns, a church and a cross.

In brief:

· A well-preserved set of canopic jars have been discovered in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty tomb of Karabasken (TT 391) by the South Asasif Conservation Project team.

· A bronze statue of Osiris has been discovered at the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.

· Two Predynastic burials have been discovered at the eastern delta site of Tell el-Farkha (about 120km northeast of Cairo), each dating to the Naqada III period (c. 3100 BC), including the skeleton of a hunting dog similar to the Sloughi breed

· Two houses dating back to c. 2490 BC (Old Kingdom) have been discovered at Giza.

· A collection of Howard Carters letters, written towards the end of his career, have been sold at auction in the UK for £5,700.
For more on these and other news stories, see the latest issue of Ancient Egypt Magazine!

For more details of these and more news stories, see the latest edition of Ancient Egypt Magazine!

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